wind vs coal: an environmental scorecard · wind vs coal: an environmental scorecard. environmental...

1Environmental Law & Policy Center

Charles KubertEnvironmental Law & Policy Center

Chicago, Illinois

* * *National Conference of State Legislatures

Ann Arbor, June 14, 2007

Wind vs Coal:

An Environmental Scorecard


• Regulated Emissions

• Water Use

• Waste Materials

• Mining Impact and Net Energy Balance

• Global Warming Impacts

Objective: To compare wind vs coalgeneration across environmental attributes


• Majority of Midwest power is coal-fired

• Almost all proposed new generation is coal or wind

• Nuclear power industry is stagnant

• Only 3% of Midwest power is gas-fired–Large construction boom in 1990s but too expensive to operate

Why is Coal the Right Benchmark?


• 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, the main cause of acid rain

• 10,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, a major cause of smog

• 500 tons of particulates

• 125,000 tons of ash and 193,000 tons of sludge

• Mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium

A typical 500 MW pulverized coal plantevery year produces


Coal-fired generation has an estimated nationalannual public health cost > $150 Billion($240 Million per 500 MW plant or $57/MWh)

$367 3,186,000Lost Work Days

$15 554,000Asthma Attacks

$5,523 16,200Chronic Bronchitis

$3,284 38,200Heart Attacks

$7 26,000Emergency Room Visits for Asthma

$187 21,850Hospital Admissions

$149,274 23,600Premature Mortality

Costs ($MM)Cases per YearHealth Effect

Source: Abt Associates, 2004.


• NO sulfur dioxide

• NO nitrogen oxide

• NO particulates

• NO ash or sludge

• NO heavy metals

1,500 MW of wind produces


• 100 billion gallons of cooling water–Discharge water is 16 degrees warmer–Impacts aquatic life through both intake screens and elevated temperatures

• 1.4 million tons of coal, enough to fill 15,000 railcars

A typical 500 MW coal plantevery year uses


The Source of Coal-fired Generation

Powder River Basin, WY

BeforeMining

DuringMining

Mountaintop Removal, WV


• NO cooling water

• NO coal, therefore no mining, no mountaintop removal, no railcars

1,500 MW of wind energy uses


• Debate over global warming and its causes is over

• 6 Midwest states produce 5% of world’s CO2 emissions

• 39% of U.S. CO2 emissions from power generation

• 97% of electric sector CO2 emissions in Midwest come from coal-fired generation

Coal and Global Warming


Coal and Global Warming

Sources of U.S. Energy Related CO2 Emissions, 2004

Transportation33.1%

Industrial15.4%

Residential6.6%

Commercial4.0%

Other Electricity Generation

7.0%

Electricity Generation from Coal

33.8%

Source: EPA 2006


• 3.7 million tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to cutting down 161 million trees or 610,000 cars operating for a full year

A typical 500 MW coal plantevery year produces


• NO CO2 emissions, equivalent to adding 161 million trees or removing 610,000 cars from the road

1,500 MW of wind energy produces


The Anticipated Cost of CO2 Emissions


The Anticipated Cost of CO2 Emissions

Many utilities believe they can get in “under the wire” or pass costs on to ratepayers

Regulatory history suggests otherwise (nuke plant overruns)

Regulators beginning to require utilities to factor in cost of CO2in permitting process.

Merchant plants will be “out of the money”


What About Natural Gas?

Natural gas has less than 1/2 the CO2 emissions of coal but…

Natural gas is not CO2-netural and definitely not cheap

Source: EIA Annual Energy Outlook


Does Wind Energy Displace Coal Generation?

•Energy efficiency plus renewables defer the need to build new coal-fired generation and allow the shut-down of dirtiest plants.

•Wind energy is not dispatchable but is predictable

•Wind energy is the lowest marginal-cost energy source

•Wind displaces fossil-fired generation on the margin –first gas, then high-cost coal


Two Paths-You Choose

Coal: A bridge to the 19th Century

Wind: A bridge to the 22nd Century

wind vs coal: an environmental scorecard · wind vs coal: an environmental scorecard. environmental...

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